What and which zone of agreement?
Posted on October 29th, 2013
‚ C. Wijeyawickrema
-If the Tamils-â„¢ cry for separatism is given up, the two communities could solve their problems and continue to live in amity and dignity.- M.C. Sansoni, CJ-”(Sessional Paper No. 7 of 1980)‚ ‚
-Sinhala people have no other land [place to go].-‚ Wigenswaran-CM, NP
‚ 
Where Tamils live (Source map: Tamilnation.org website 1/25/2010
Vessantara-traitor dilemma
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Between getting branded as a Tamil traitor (even GG Ponnambalam was once called a Tamil traitor) or a Sinhala Vessantara/Siri Sangabo, Wigneswaran and MahindaR, respectively, could find the zone of agreement that Dayan Jayatilleke is talking about, if both of them act honestly and reasonably. Beyond the picture-taking oath ceremony, and the prohibited word -unitary- (Dayan talks of a united not unitary), there are serious but simple questions one could ask.‚ When Vigneswaran (W) says that Sinhala people have no other land [except this island], then he accepts the history and geography of the country. But is this because the visiting Indian foreign minister told him to say so? ‚ ‚ If it was his own genuine realization, then is he ready to forget the Tamil homeland myth of SJV Chelvanayagma? ‚ Since nobody calls Tamils buying land in Colombo as Tamilisation would he stop using the word Sinhalisation when Colombo government does anything in NP or EP?‚ Then only one can think of W or one his granddaughters one day becoming a Tamil Obama in Sri Lanka or at least a reincarnation of Lakshman Kadiragamar or even a Jeyaraj Fernandopullai. More Tamils live outside NP like a scrambled egg.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ But if the day after the photo-taking if W says that it was because of India that he could become CM-NP what could one expect? Before the election he said Prabakaran was the greatest Tamil hero. He did not realize that by telling so to get Tamil votes the cheaper way he was slapping on the face of Sinhala Buddhists who had the Sri Maha Bodhi and the Dalada Maligawa attacked, and busloads of Buddhist monks massacred. ‚ Prabakaran cannot be a Tamil Kappettipola maha dissava, objectively speaking. One can understand W now has a difficult boat to row in balancing how to satisfy promoting the Prabakaran game versus how to promote a peace-loving Tamil culture without harming the Sinhala heritage. ‚ But, if his plan is to blackmail Mahinda Rajapakse (MR) using the Indian card or the Michele Sisson face, he will destroy his politics, larger Tamil dream of peace and the politics of MR. This is why all those former -this war was not winnable- agents are preaching to W to apply breaks and be diplomatic.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ On the other side of the picture-taking opportunity, when MahindaR (MR) says he has Sinhala extremists and religious extremists in his government, which words must be honey in the ears of the TNA, Vasudeva, Dew, TissaV, Bahu, Rajitha and Mano Ganeshan, as well as the Indian RAW, can he elaborate what Sinhala extremists and what religious extremists he has (Yes, there were Sinhala extremists in the past (1957) by the names of KMP and Kusuma Rajaratne)?‚ After his recent twin conversion to multiculturalism and the Interfaith Sect, both modern instruments of remote-controlled colonialism, embraced by the black-white crowds in the former colonies (but England and France now accept multiculturalism experiment has failed), it is possible that he could now see Sinhala extremists, but in the case of religion, a reasonable and impartial person could see only one religious extremist in his cabinet: Rauff Hakeem who fabricates stories that Buddhists are destroying mosques, his hurriedly erected make-shift tin sheds. The Rajiv-JRJ 1987 agreement accepts a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka and 13-A added this to the JRJ bahubootha thing. As long as 13-A is there Sri Lanka cannot be a unitary state. Hence, either unitary must go or 13-A should go. This is not a matter that MR can try to escape from the loop by passing the buck to a parliament so well known as a shop full of crooks. JRJ kept them in a hotel and forced them to vote for 13-A.
‚ Reasonable solution
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ The reasonable thing is to erase the bahubootha thing and develop a constitution by the people. Such acts require selfless dedication to save one-â„¢s motherland. The reasonable thing is to accept that both UNP and SLFP Colombo politicians have failed to solve the Tamil issue with justifiable solutions. A real Buddhist leader can find these solutions within the Buddhist Jathaka stories and the Middle Path. Poor Christians and the Sinhala Buddhist villagers (not the Colombo black-white Sinhalese and the Christian establishment) would not object to doing justice to Tamils. The history has been that boru Vessantaras or Madri Devis messed up the issue because it was always their private benefit that was in their hidden agenda. For example, both RPremadas as well as Mrs. Chandrika thought NP as their private property and wanted to offer it secretly to Prabakaran on long-term lease! ‚ RanilW in 2002 offered NP and EP as well as the whole country (tiger cats were roaming all over the island, but army could not go to NP/EP) on a platter to Erick Solheim and Prabakaran.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Rajiv Gandhi did not want nine PCs in Sri Lanka. He wanted one PC for N-E provinces. It was JRJ-â„¢s plan thinking it will prevent the Rajiv plan. Now the biggest problem Sri Lanka has is not Tamils but the exploitation of the country by a horde of parasites known as PC members, their relatives and officers who thrive under the PC system. It has become a lucrative gold mine. Those who want 13-A are these Sinhala sharks. The perception is that MR also thrives under the 13-A system. MR is using the King Walagambahu method to use this PC system to keep the presidency maintained (isolate PCs and hold elections exerting full governmental force). So much so that Michele Sisson says elections does not [necessarily] mean democracy. She knows it is not true in USA, because every day there is elections in so many locations in USA.
Death of democracy
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Since the 1960s one could see how democracy was dying in Sri Lanka. What are some indications? The (1) structural democracy was dying due to tampering with the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, impartial civil service etc.‚ UNP and SLFP political black-whites did this by gradual politicization of everything they touched. The 1947 constitution became the scapegoat. Except for the removal of appeals to the Privy Council nothing was wrong with that system. Even the Clause 29 could have been handled if the concept of discrimination with reason was used (India, USA and Malaysia used it). For example, when GG Ponnambalam complained that allocating money for the preservation of the ancient city of Anuradhapura was discrimination, the Soulbury Commission flatly rejected such madness. The destruction of structural democracy was completed with the JRJ bahubootha thing in 1978.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Appointing active politicians (Jaya Pathirana) as SC judges began with Felix Dias. May Day rallies became so funny. In Colombo, blue and red rally participants throw stones at shops. In mid night when these people travel back to their remote villages green rally workers throw stones at their busses hiding behind rubber trees! The worst was in the 1970s when false answers were given for questions asked in the parliament.‚ Seetha Molamure who lost Ratnapura by-election sat in the Senate before the man who won took oath in the House. These are just a few examples of how structural democracy began to fall sick.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ The death of (2) territorial democracy was the next. Whatever one could salvage from the capitalist representative democracy that the American president George Bush was talking so highly about, who stole it from Al Gore in the first place, ended in Sri Lanka with JRJ-RPremadas election laws. Now MPs, PC members and Pradesheeyas are mostly thugs selected by party bosses in Colombo after an interview.‚ The whole system is a disgrace to democracy, whatever is meant by the word democracy. ‚ The election boss cannot even implement the law on declaration of assets on the candidates or the ones got elected!
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ After 1978, During RPremadas time, another (3) attack on civil administration took place by increasing the number GSN units from 4,000 to 14,004. There was no rationale behind this decision except providing jobs to UNP catchers.‚ Each GSN unit now has at least 3-5 full-time government officers.‚ If local school teachers are added to this list 50-100 government servants per GSN unit. No country can develop if these people are allowed to idle because they have political party connections.
Spatial inequity
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ With the governance system in such a mess for the past 50 years or more, it was not possible to expect anything better on the socio-economic side other than patch work here and there. Structural changes to a colonial open economy, reducing the gap between the rich and the poor, taking development work away from Colombo, all operated under the Colombo paradigm, which JVP described as -milk to Colombo and fodder to villages.- ‚ Some work was done but it was always government officers running the show fooling the politician. DS Senanayaka-â„¢s dry Zone land development schemes gave lots of jobs to Tamil technical officers, but were run very inefficiently. Dudley Senanayaka, Mrs. B and RPremadas had at least one major project always directed from Colombo. Now Basil Rajapakse has begun several projects also run by officers.‚ He decided not to copy the very successful Gami Diriya people-based project, and instead created a monster department to run his Divi Neguma plan. These can bring some results but unless people are deciding what they need to do, any officer-imposed plan cannot succeed. That is the history of such projects all over the world. The problem in Sri Lanka today is a problem of spatial inequality in not having equality of opportunity and equal access to opportunity. This is so all over the country worst affected being the border regions in the NP, NCP, EP and UP.
Degradation of morals (King Kosol-â„¢s Sixteen Dreams)
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ The open economy introduced by JRJ without reasonable restriction has destroyed the physical, human and moral resource base of the country. Big fish eating the small fish, greed to make money somehow, parents encouraging children to tell lies, tuition mafia, bribery, corruption, sex selling, one can write pages of such ill effects slowly destroying the society, especially the Sinhala Buddhist society. During the 30-year war people lived smiling with the fear of death underneath and two generations suffered from this mental condition, became so un-human like, suspicious of others, extremely selfish, willing to lie or steal. Unfortunately, only a visitor from abroad can see these traits and the whole country needs mental therapy of some sort. ‚ This can be identified as the Mervyn Silva syndrome, so openly abusive of all Buddhist norms of civility. ‚ Buddhist temples are failing in their traditional role as the whole country is in a rat race. This situation is not limited to Colombo areas alone.‚ Yes, there is a section of the people who make money and rich but the masses are bankrupt, materially and morally. ‚ Importing luxury cars using the money sent by village women who work in Arab homes cleaning toilets, and the tourism madness have already done massive societal damage.
Zone of agreement (curse of the JRJ bahubootha thing)
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ So Dayan Jayatilleke talks about the zone of agreement-”the fine line dividing an Eelam versus united federal state! His zone does not include a unitary Sri Lanka. He and other federalists want Wigneswarn to be cautious, not to be a case of pudana kotama kaapi yakaa (the devil swallowed it as if the offer was completed fully?) as if to give MR sometime to digest the rope. Dayan is so sure about a Bangladesh/Kosovo type R2P solution if W be patient. ‚ Hasty acts will be a reverse of what Prabakaran did, who refused all the good offers bestowed at his feet. ‚ This is all when MR is caught between the Canadian boycott of CHOGM and the British PM coming with -tough messages.-‚ May be another lucky UNP MP can become a new minister just to implement CHOMG decisions
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ The short descriptions in paragraphs above show that Wigneswaran, TNA, Indian RAW and Michele Sisson are just small disappointments that MR has to worry about. Dayan-â„¢s zone is a mental zone limited to a merged N-E zone; MR-â„¢s zone on the other hand is the whole country replete with mismanagement by black-whites. Just forget about the university mess, tuition mess, hospital mess, transportation mess; even the Sugala Devi-â„¢s tomb is dynamited and the archaeology boss says he will have an inquiry! There is a Ph.D. minister whose only allocated function is to protect such historical sites!
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ JRJ thought he was an Aristotle but ended like an Andare, the court jester. He preached for a system of government better than anywhere in the world, and with the help of A.J. Wilson erected a method which is now known as the bahubootha thing. With its other death trap, the new election method, this JRJ thing has become a curse for those who come to power under it. For example, we know from Mrs. B-â„¢s private secretary that she thought that -Chandrika [is] pissu kelinava.-‚ We know from RPremadas-â„¢ press secretary that -RP was suffering from severe mental (psychiatric) disease.- Fortunately, MR is free from all such problems but the curse affected him in a different way.‚ In order to overcome the most severe defect in the bahubootha thing (planted by AJ Wilson?) MR started using minister-â„¢s jobs as a bribe which is a politically wise thing to do. But in so doing he has violated a cardinal rule in management systems. It created a system of disintegration of functions that has become a malfunctioning of the whole system of governmental management. The divisions were such that no one can be identified as the party responsible for bad things. For example the function of agriculture which should under one minister is so divided that there is even a sugar minister. While this is happening on one end three or four ministers have all the key governmental functions taken out of other namesake ministries so that when things go wrong namesake ministers become the scapegoats. In a situation like this it is human nature to make hay when the sun is shining. The evil triangle operating for several decades is now at its zenith under this bribing method along with the PC white elephant. There is no Middle Path but extremism.
River for Jaffna
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Despite all these problems from A-Z, there is no alternative for the Sinhala Buddhists and the poor Christians in Sri Lanka other than MR.‚ People have not forgotten what JRJ, RPremadas, RanilW, Ravi Karunanayaka and Mrs. Chandrika did to the country. The new movement Bodu Bala Sena is really the challenge that MR faces because it is exposing how Sinhala politicians have been playing a game of cheating Sinhala Buddhists for half a century. Therefore, if Wigneswaran and TNA becomes an albatross on MR-â„¢s neck, the country will again be in a total mess. War capital will be over. Golden brains (GLP, CBK-based federalist), copper brains (Sarath Amunugama, legalize kassippu) and sand brains (Vasu, two language national anthem) will be the first to jump ship when the right time comes.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Therefore, if TNA is not for an Eelam, if they want to follow the law, if they learned anything from the good advice given by CJ Sansoni in 1980, then the first task before them on behalf of Tamils in Jaffna is to ask Colombo-â„¢s help to implement the river for Jaffna project, first presented by K Balasingham, member of the State Council in the 1930s and refined by S Arumugam in the 1950s and keeping it alive to date by DLO. Mendis. Since, Colombo itself should have undertaken this plan as part of the Mahaveli Project, a request from TNA, will be an eye opening cry of TNA. It would be the most beneficial, most reasonable Colombo-Jaffna joint project with least cost. In fact, this was something Douglas Devananda should have discussed with Basil Rajapakse and Bathirudeen if he was a wise man.
Colonial administrative divisions
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Whether or not Wigneswaran is honest MR has a duty to make sure that incentives promoting separatism are removed.‚ One cannot depend on Supreme Court or goodwill of Ms. Sission. America is the only country in the world where one part of a target country is bombed while parcels of food and medicine air dropped in another part of the same target country! Not only friendships are temporary but friendships can be different depending on the location-”Jaffna, Trinco or Hambantota. There are forces that W or MR cannot control. Tamils all over the world are dreaming for a Tamil state with a UN seat.‚ USA is joining with 300-million Indian middle class to control China and Trinco harbor is so valuable in this regard (it is already under Indian control). Christianization of Asia is easier if the Sinhala Buddhist society is in chaos with interfaith junk evangelical-Taliban intrusions. ‚ Steps taken to remove germs of separatism must be such that they could not be sabotaged using the R2P trick. This is why some actions suggested by Susantha Goonetilleke to introduce what Germany did to de-Nazify German minds after the end of Hitler cannot be implemented in the case of Prabakaranism in NP. Instead there are rational, reasonable, scientific Buddhist methods that can be justifiably applied in Sri Lanka.
- Making sure that children in NP are taught Sinhala as part of the national plan to teach Tamil and Sinhala to all school children in the island;
- Taking steps to demarcate GSN boundaries on the basis of natural-ecology (hydrology) and geography-based criteria;
- Surface or underground water resource based GSN units will fit within the 103 river basins running radially from a central mountain mass, making it possible to agglomerate‚ GSN units as electorates, districts and provinces as needed;
- If provinces are needed so that Tamil in the north wants a larger area all GSN units can be divided as seven river basins;
- River basin approach is the scientific method used in a world of global warming, environmental degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, flooding, drought, landslides, waste management, and land and air pollution.
‚ Seven River Basins
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(Compare this map with the nine-province |
With this simple change it will become obvious that the nine-province division of the island done by the British for colonial reasons has no reason to exist other than the inability of the Eurocentric black-white thinking of the UNP, LSSP, CP and SLFP politicians. With the realization that NP is depending on the Mahaveli water and that there will not be an EP, the thinking that a Tamil country could be carved out of Sri Lanka instead of from India will face a natural death. With GSN units based on natural boundaries there will be hundreds of 100% Tamil, Muslim units but there basis is not language or ethnicity but hydrology-ecology. Divisions based on river basins will not be perceived as a Tamil separatist threat by the Sinhala villagers.
Evil triangle
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ Tamil separatism is only a small problem compared to the wholesale destruction taking place in the island due partisan politics. An evil triangle (politician-officer-NGO) has enveloped the villages, towns, urban areas and the whole island making people-â„¢s lives so miserable which does not appear on surface but deep within. This why the administrative boundary modification proposed above becomes more relevant in salvaging the country from the present mess.
‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ LLRC recommended devolution of power to the lowest possible unit of government as opposed to Tissa Vitharana-â„¢s APRC idea of having a Tamil police station in Sinhala villages. If Sri Lanka is to be protected from inevitable destruction it is necessary to create GSN-level people-â„¢s civic administrative units where 10 members are selected on non-political party basis. This is how empowerment of people can take place. This is what India is trying to do under the Panchayathi Raj law. ‚ Our situation is not as complex as India-â„¢s. All local civil administrative functions need to be handed over to these committees. They will take the decisions with the advice of officer experts and the implementation of these policy decisions to be handled by local officers responsible to the GSN committee. At present local knowledge is ignored or erased by some officer answerable to party politicians. Issues people face on a daily basis, drinking water, garbage disposal, elementary education, floods, landslides, religious harmony, agriculture, water and air pollution, basic health, NGO exploitation must be tackled by local people at local level. The Divi Neguma law needs modification and used as an instrument to create this kind of GSN level civil administrative units.‚ It is true that politicians at all levels who created a mess in the first place will not willingly give up their power and perks.‚ But this is a war for the politician MR, unlike the military war won by the soldier GR. Imagine a situation that the Bodu Bala Sena taking a booklet developed on the basis of this essay and distributing it to villagers!
October 29th, 2013 at 1:00 pm
No river for Jaffna. Never.
If fresh water is widely available in Jaffna MORE and more TN ILLEGALS will come here and live. That will WORSEN the problem.
Make matters WORSE for Jaffna and we will find a solution that favors SL.
October 29th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Our problem is not river basin related; it is political. No need to redraw boundaries to empower another set of parasites.
DISMANTLE all Sub-National Political boundaries, revert to Districts administered by Government Agents as in the Colonial era, supplemented by Municipal and Village councils to ease administration of population centers.
One National Government Bureaucracy is ENOUGH for TINY Sri Lanka. DO NOT IMPOSE Multiple Layers of Parasitic Separation-Prone Bureaucracies to BURDEN our long suffering people barely able to keep body and soul together.
It is not by accident that 26% of Sri Lankan workers slave in foreign countries to support their families in Sri Lanka. They cannot earn enough in Sri Lanka to support multiple layers of bureaucratic parasites. Let us not BURDEN these harassed citizens with more useless parasites, or SRi Lanka will become a wasteland without citizens!
October 29th, 2013 at 3:28 pm
No ! No river basins ! No separatism in any form ! Let the dogs bark and DJs fart !
“Now the biggest problem Sri Lanka has is not Tamils but the exploitation of the country by a horde of parasites known as PC members, their relatives and officers who thrive under the PC system.” – agree as the main problem now.
“DISMANTLE all Sub-National Political boundaries, revert to Districts administered by Government Agents as in the Colonial era, supplemented by Municipal and Village councils to ease administration of population centers.” – agree for the time being.
Buy all Tamil land ! build Sinhala cities (not villages) with all modern facilities for families of armed forces. Let the Tamils come and work as domestic servants in these house. That is the solution.
October 29th, 2013 at 3:35 pm
As the map shows (thanks for the map LW. Last time the map was not shown) Tamilians live around the world. So there is NO NEED for them to live in SL.
What if Tamilians in SL get powers other Tamilians don’t have?
ALL these kallathonis will come to SL. That is how it works. You show a stateless (HOMELESS) puppy some kindness it will come after you.
October 29th, 2013 at 3:48 pm
But the puppy grows up and will be obedient will show his love and affection to the master. Tamil puppies will show their gratitude to Prabhakaran , the mad dog killed while bitting puppies !
October 29th, 2013 at 7:17 pm
Quoted from Ananda-USA’s comment above:
[Quote] It is not by accident that 26% of Sri Lankan workers slave in foreign countries to support their families in Sri Lanka. They cannot earn enough in Sri Lanka to support multiple layers of bureaucratic parasites. [Unquote]
This is a very insightful statement which Lankan policymakers will not fully apprehend. Sri Lanka has needlessly high number of administrative laters that add no value. Provincial Councils alone cost over Rs. 150 billion. Although 80% of it goes to education and healthcare services administered by the PCs, the rest goes mainly for civil administration. It is wastage in astronomical proportions.
Additional redtape, double or tripple handing of finance disbursement, delay in approvals, boundary disputes and cost of elections/appointment get added on top of that.
With foreign interest payments reaching rupees 100 billion a year (increased 10 times over the past 10 years), there is no hope Sri Lanka will be able to manager her finances without exporting top talent.
Sri Lanka must refocus its attention on its workforce, not on Tamils and their ethnic aspirations which is bleeding the nation.
October 30th, 2013 at 11:04 am
Strange map up there on Where Tamils live. Sri Lanka, which is has endless troubles due to Tamil leaders misleading the Tamil people, is presented on the left of India – why ?
If a similar map is made for Sinhela & Others of Lanka not of Tamil origin, and colored in blue, it would include almost the entire world.
By making maps of the type above, Tamil leaders are desperately trying to form a Tamil Nation out of the entire world, probably for trade purposes and possible take overs of small places ?
Re this sentence : “Making sure that children in NP are taught Sinhala as part of the national plan to teach Tamil and Sinhala to all school children in the island” – it makes sense that the sparse population in the NP (hundreds of thousands of them are Tamil illegal migrants) are taught the Sinhala language, but to teach Tamil to the children of the entire island borders on sheer lunacy ! Whose idea is that ?
October 30th, 2013 at 11:21 am
Re Language : As a Democratic Nation, GoSL has to contact the Sinhela folk first whether they want to learn Tamil or English. What do you, the readers, suppose the answer will be ?
Can learning Tamil offer any rewarding experiences at all, as opposed to learning English where the rewards are many.
The people of Lanka are free to learn any language that they please.
Re Administrative Units : I was earlier for the River Basin idea, but now think that the District idea is much better and easier to implement.
Buddhist nation leaders ought to use Common Sense to solve their problems. Religion & State should be kept apart.
October 30th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Viggi the terrorist is admitted to Jaffna hospital for a heart attack. Wish he dies soon.
October 30th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Fran Diaz,
1. As long as learning ALL Three Languages (Sinhala, Tamil and English) is Compulsory … it is fair and will lend itself to INTEGRATING the TWO major language groups in Sri Lanka.
Knowledge of Tamil will make it easier for Sinhala people to keep tabs on the Eelamsts and settle and live in the North and East. On the other hand, Tamils will be forced to learn Sinhalese … and prove proficiency for example through National exams (GCE O/L) …. so it will breakdown the insularity and isolation of the Northern Tamils that is the cause of much continuing Eelamist sentiment. But, if Sinhala people are forced to learn Tamil, we must force Tamil people to learn Sinhala as well … what is good for the goose, must be good for the gander as well.
The ludricrous nature of this whole issue is that a 80% Sinhala-speaking majority is having to accord the same status to an at most 20% Tamil-speaking minority (Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils and Moslem Tamil speakers), just to preserve the peace and integrity of Sri Lanka, due to a conflict created by at most 3% of the Tamil speakers!
If it were not for the fact that Sinhala people must be able to effectively confront Tamil Nadu for ETERNITY, I would rather learn to speak HINDI …. linguistically related to Sinhala … that is the National Language of India. If there is any other language I would want Sinhalese to learn well … it is CHINESE … the Global Language of the future.
The downside of requiring Sinhala people to learn Tamil is that … will they forget and lose Sinhala proficiency given the veritable flood of Tamil films and other media ….. streaming in from Tamil Nadu?
2. On the subject of using Districts as administrative units, it is ESSENTIAL that their administrations are NOT LOCALLY ELECTED, but are DIRECTLY administered by the ELECTED National Government through APPOINTED Governments Agents, because the National Government represents the will of ALL citizens of Sri Lanka, while an Elected District Administration would represent the will only of its local constituency. If Local Elections are allowed to determine the administration …. we would again be back to SQUARE ONE … separatism by collaboration of some of the Elected District Administrations.
Election of Members of Parliament to the National Government is a NECESSARY & SUFFICIENT means of allowing people to exercise their Universal Franchise as citizens through Elections conducted in the Nation as a whole, and not part by part in large regional units.
It may be a good thing to pass a new law assigning some limited power to each these Members of Parliament so that can bring benefits to their communities from their participation in the National Parliament, rather than merely through supporting their parties in the Parliament. Currently, they are lobbyists and lotus eaters paid by the tax payer. It would not be a bad thing thing to actually put these buggers to work, and deliver a benefit to the people of their constituencies in return for paying their salaries.
Recently, the GOSL under MR’s leadership, has already taken some steps to implement a District based System of Governance presumably as an ALTERNATIVE to the Provincial Council System. The problem is that Provinces are much bigger administrative units than Districts, and their control by anti-national elements presents a threat to the TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY of the Nation, and ADMINISTRATIVECONTROL by the National Government.
Among these steps, is the appointment of a “District Minister” to each District. The term “Minister” sounds grander than “Government Agent” but by definition it is the same thing in that he is NOT DIRECTLY ELECTED by the People, but is APPOINTED by the ELECTED National Government.
All of this may augur GOOD NEWS for us Patriots now incurably unhappy about the 13th Amendment and the rise of an Eelamist Controlled Northern Provincial Government that every day acquires more of the trappings of the recently defeated “LTTE Government” in the Wanni.
It may, in fact, signal the REVOCATION of the 13th Amendment and the DISMANTLING of the Provincial Council System in the near future, and its REPLACEMENT by a GOSL controlled District System of Governance. Let us HOPE & PRAY that becomes a REALITY very soon!
October 30th, 2013 at 4:20 pm
Ananda,
As long as Tamil remains an official language or a national languge,
1. There will be Tamil only ghettos.
2. Tamil Nadu will be closer to Tamils than Sinhalese or Muslims.
3. Tamil Nadu illegal migration will continue.
4. SL will ultimately become TAMIL SPEAKING (part of Tamil Nadu).
5. Sinhalese will perish little by little.
USA has English only for a reason. If it had English and Spanish as official or national languages by now some US states would have joined Mexico!!!
October 30th, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Ananda – USA
It is unfair to force Other kids to learn Tamil. Sinhala was/is/and will be the language of the land. English the link language. Tamil can be learnt by Tamil kids – no problem there.
People other than Tamils have to be consulted first whether they want to learn Tamil or teach Tamil to their kids. That is the Democratic way. That is the way things are done all over the Democratic world.
No more forcing things down the throat of Sri Lankans. People have to be consulted first. Otherwise it will not work.
October 30th, 2013 at 5:41 pm
What is the point of learning stupid Tamil language ? It will create psychopaths. Even in India Hindi is the language.
Hindi is more useful. Learning Mandarin will be of immense benefit.
October 30th, 2013 at 6:31 pm
When we look at the roots of Sinhalese language it is an Aryan language. It is related closely to Hindi which is related to Latin. Whereas Tamil is not an Aryan language. It is an ugly guttural sound which may have descended from the sounds the apes made when they were fighting with each other. As Vigneswaran himself has pointed out the Sinhalese have no other place to go. It is our land, our language, and our culture. Our forefathers gave their lives to preserve the language and the unique Buddhist culture which does not exist anywhere else in the world. If the Tamils in Sri Lanka want to enjoy their lingam worshipping culture they should go back to Tamil Nadu where they rightfully belong. We should not forget that we have a 2600 year old culture which is the bedrock which has given sustenance even to the minorities who have used Sri Lanka, the free education, the free health care and even the free food provided by the tax payers majority of whom are Sinhalese. Like Malaysia we should declare that the Sinhalese are Bhumiputra and once and for all put an end to this charade. If the fat woman in Tamil Nadu wants to invade us let her come we will show her a thing or two.
October 30th, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Agree with Nanda and Cerberus.
Mandarin should be taught to BOTH Sinhalese and Tamils instead of Tamil.
Hindi is also a good choice.
SL should SCRAP Tamil official and national language and make HINDI a national language. English and Mandarin link and business languages.
India is AGINAST China. Pakistan in a mess. SL should QUICKLY grab the Mandarin and Hindi advantage.
IF say 200,000 SLs can speak Mandarin and Hindi EACH, there will be HUGE business opportunities for SL to reach MIDDLE CLASS and LOWER MIDDLE CLASS of these 2 countries’ business.
Tamil is as USELESS as a used toilet paper. Only 5% in Endia use it!! Just 5%. SAVE SL people from the USELESS Tamil language.
October 30th, 2013 at 8:56 pm
MY response to Fran Diaz, elsewhere at LankaWeb.com
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Fran Diaz,
You made many good comments in response to my post on the Tri-Lingual Policy, and they are worthy of serious consideration. I have the SOME OF THE SAME fears you expressed, to wit:
1. “As Sri Lanka is a small country, we could get inundated with Tamil literature and culture if Tamil is made compulsory here. Tamil language will bring with it all the cultural baggage of Caste and the pantheon of mini-gods.”
Indeed, the TOLERANT Sinhala-Buddhist culture has led to the elimination of many inequities related to Caste, Sex, Race, Religion, and Wealth as a significant factor in the eyes of the law in Sri Lanka in strak contradt to the situation in INdia which gained independence one year BEFORE SRi Lanka. To this day, equity in India is FAR BELOW that enjoyed by ALL Sri Lankan citizens.
It is the Sinhala-Buddhist culture that is responsible for the social progress in Sri Lanka compared to India. IN the past, I have written EXTENSIVELY about this in the past, and I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY with your statements.
In Sri Lanka, this has led to compulsory education of ALL citizens to a literacy comparable to that of many Western nations, unhindered access to places of worship, advancement of women in the workplace and in the home with rights equal to those of men, labor laws that are a model for the developing world, basic healthcare for all, widespread land ownership with fairs laws that protect both the tenants and the landlords with limitations placed on the amount of land that can be owned and monopolized by rich individuals, equal unhindered access to public resources such as water, land, beaches, and public parks, and equal availability of transportation, electricity and employment without regard to social class. ALL of these arise from the Sinhala Buddhist mindset … devoid of discriminatory attitudes embedded deep in the caste-ridden Tamil Hindu culture which is fighting very hard rear guard action in India in general, and Tamil Nadu in particular … to preserve the privileges of casye and social class.
So, I agree with you that the Sinhala-Buddhist culture of Sri Lanka, that has led to this RAPID social progress since independence, MUST BE PRESERVED and not allowed to be diluted and undermined by any Caste-Ridden Intolerant minority cultures.
My support for the Tri-Lingual Policy arose from the BELIEF that the tolerance of the Sinhala-Buddhist culture would, in time, remain dominant, and rub-off on the Tamil people of the North, especially if Sinhala people also settle in the North, and get them to accept the benefits of tolerant non-communal behavior, just as most old Colombo Tamils had done in the past, before the massive migration of Northern Tamils to Colombo took place in the war years.
Most Tamils I had associated with during my youth in Sri Lanka, among them, personal friends, fellow students, close neighbors, local businessmen and professionals, were no different from the Sinhalese in their tolerant outlook.
On the other hand, I admit that many Tamils from the North I got to know at Peradeniya Campus were not so friendly and remained largely separate and isolated, while Colombo Tamils mixed with us freely. I really don’t know what the war years had done to the psyche and outlook of both isolated Northerners brainwashed by the LTTE, those Northern Tamils who found fled the Tamil Saviours and sought refuge in the South, and the old Colombo Tamils who were our friends.
Perhaps, ALL Tamils have changed for the worse to different degrees, but I know that when I meet my old Tamil friends, nothing seems to have changed.
In a sense, it is like using tame elephants to train captured wild elephants … the risk of tame elephants being gored by the wild elephants is always there. If the belief … in the judgement of most People and Leaders of Sri Lanka … that the TRi-Lingual Policy is UNWORKABLE & FRAUGHT with UNACCEPTABLE level of Danger for Sri Lanka, then the Tri-Lingual Policy should be ABANDONED.
2. “The onus is on Tamil people to integrate into mainstream life in Lanka. the onus is NOT on the majority of people Sinhela and others to integrate with Tamil language and culture. ”
” When we go abroad, the onus is on us to communicate in the languages of those countries. Tamils abroad learn the languages of those countries they live in now. All the facts show that Tamils of Lanka have to integrate into mainstream life here. ”
This is also CLEARLY true. Small minorities MUST ADAPT to the society as determined by the majority community, largely ADOPTING the rules of the larger society. In any other Western country if they were to make the demands they make in Sri Lanka, they would soon be either deported, imprisoned or killed.
Long ago non-Romans obeyed the dictum “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” in recognition of the REALITY that for any minority to win acceptance and survive, they must adapt to and adopt the customs of the larger society, or they will never succeed. That WAS COMMON SENSE THEN, and IS COMMON SENSE NOW.
So, we might ask, why if Sri Lankan Tamils in Diaspora can adapt to the culture of these countries hosting them, why they cannot adapt to life in Sinhala-Buddhist majority Sri Lanka?
CLEARLY the REASON is quite simple: The presence of 60 million+ racist vociferous militant Tamils across the Palk Strait encourages them to believe that they can carve out a state of their own in Sri Lanka in which they can be the majority, and UNITE with Tamil Nadu at some future date, and that Sri Lanka can be somehow terrorized and cowed into accepting it.
That is the CENTRAL REALITY of the Eelamist Mindset and BELIEF that we have to CONFRONT HEAD ON leaving NO HOPE that it can EVER BE ACHIEVED. As Lorenzo intones …. LEAVE THEM HOPELESS!
That is why the 13th Amendment should be REVOKED, the Provincial Council System DISMANTLED, and every attempt to carve out a Racist Apartheid Tamils-only Region or Local Government within Sri Lanka should be CONFRONTED head-on, and PREVENTED from ever becoming a reality.
If such a Tamil-dominated regional administration is EVER created in Sri Lanka, it will be a DEATH sentence for the Sinhalese as a Sovereign People.
Then, ASK NOT FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS; IT TOLLS FOR US!
October 31st, 2013 at 5:42 am
Ananda,
You have said it all here. Thank you for your input.
Here are more thoughts on the topic :
You have identified the Northern Tamils (at present, mostly illegal with the Tamil Nadu caste bound mindset
of ‘we are no good – even God has rejected us by making us Tamil Dalits’), as the root cause of the problems. Thus their unhappiness and anti-social behavior patterns.
But, Sri Lanka does not exist to erase Tamil Caste problems. These problems must be addressed in Tamil Nadu itself where it all begins – the Root Causes have to be eliminated there. TN leaders have to study how Tamils abroad have erased Caste, and apply the same solutions in TN social structures. For instance, isn’t having Scheduled Castes under their state government classifications go against the Indian Constitution itself that forbids discrimination (good or bad), on Caste grounds ? So why have Caste based classifications at all ? People ought to be classified according to their actions (society does that automatically), and abilities (Doctors, Engineers, Accountants, Politicians etc), not caste. I repeat : the Buddha said
that “one is high born or low born only according to ones actions”.
But whilst the Tamil Caste structure exists, Sri Lanka Leaders of all hue have to act with great Caution and Wisdom re the Northern Tamils and also the Tamil leaders, both in Lanka & Tamil Nadu.
Therefore, we agree with you that it behoves on the Parliament of Sri Lanka (not just GoSL) to revoke the 13-A and SAVE the NATION, including the Tamils of Sri Lanka, especially the Northern Tamils. If Parliament (not just GoSL) acts with firmness and kindness (customary Buddhist actions), toward the Northern Tamils, then the psychological problems there can be resolved with TIME. TIME must be granted to Lanka to achieve some good results with the Northern Tamils.
The North will integrate into mainstream life in Lanka. The Northern population is a tiny percentage of Sri Lanka. They must be HELPED to INTEGRATE into the rest of Lanka. No other way.
Re Tamil Nadu : The ordinary Tamil Nadu folk do not hate Sri Lanka. It is the ex-ltte Tamils and the political leadership there that has led the media and the people there astray to pin the blame of Tamil problems on Sri Lanka and her leaders.
Let Tamil Nadu find solutions to social problems there. Again, no other way. TN leaders dallying with Sri Lanka is only patch work distractions for social problems that beset Tamil Nadu. For permanent solutions, they have to go to the Root Cause of their problems and find suitable solutions. They too have to be granted TIME to achieve good results.
In Sri Lanka, our Leaders have a vast number of social and other human needs problems to address here without wasting time, funds & energy on Tamil Nadu problems as well as problems of various other foreign countries.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:30 am
Fran Diaz,
I Completely agree with your comments above.
I would like to make one point though: you said “TN leaders have to study how Tamils abroad have erased Caste, and apply the same solutions in TN social structures” .
TRUE if Tamil communities that have seamlessly integrated into the host societies do exist, but do such communities exist? To my knowledge they mostly congregate in Tamil Ghettos … in Colombo especially with the mass influx of Northern Tamils during the war, in Canada, in the UK etc.
Therefore, Tamils abroad may not have “erased Caste attitudes” they acquired in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere, and now pass it on to the young wherever they live. This conclusion is confirmed, for example, by the continuing support of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora for an Apartheid Racist Tamils-only Eelam in Sri Lanka, their tendency to congregate in Tamil Ghettos wherever they settle, and the demand for Sinhala people to LEAVE the Northern Province they now control through the PC Elections.
In stark contrast, Sinhala Expatriates don’t do that …. not here in the USA, nor anywhere else that I know of.
October 31st, 2013 at 11:58 am
RECONCILIATION should not mean APPEASEMENT of Racist Separatists! PROHIBIT & CONFRONT every attempt by the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA to revive their Eelam Struggle for a Tamils-Only Separate State!
Removal of Army Camps that help maintain security after the recent DEFEAT of Tamil terrorists in an area in which residents were brainwashed by the separatists for over 30 years, WILL NOT IMPROVE the Safety & Security of ALL Sri Lankans, everywhere in Sri Lanka.
The 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index report (see below) says “despite the end of the civil war with the Tamil Tiger terrorists in 2009, the country has not felt safe. The Safety & Security sub-index ranked at 121 out of the 142 countries surveyed.”
Instead of Decreasing Army Presence, INCREASE the presence of the Army in the former war zones, create Naval & Coast Guard bases ALL around that Coastline within EYE-SIGHT of each other to protect our territory and stem illegal immigration from Tamil Nadu, and PERMANENTLY SETTLE Armed Forces personnel and their FAMILIES in these areas, with MASSIVE GOSL assistance, to CHANGE the distribution of residents by ETHNICITY to the Average for the Nation as a whole, as a matter of High National Priority.
If Tamil citizens can settle in Colombo, Sinhala citizens MUST BE ABLE TO LIVE in the North & East. Let the GOSL LEAD the CHARGE towards Ethnic Integration.
Ethnic Integration is the ONLY WAY to PERMANENTLY endow Sri Lankan citizens with PEACE, SECURITY & PROSPERITY! Let us MARCH FORWARD SENSIBLY to LEAD the Legatum Prosperity Index in the future!
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Sri Lanka has become more prosperous since 2009, ranked 60th in Prosperity Index
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 31, Colombo: The latest Legatum Prosperity Index, which ranks nations according to wealth and wellbeing factors, has placed Sri Lanka at 60th place moving up eleven places in overall Prosperity since 2009 when the country defeated three decades of terrorism.
This year’s Prosperity Index, compiled by London-based Legatum Institute, contains data on 142 countries for 89 variables, spread across eight sub-indices. The sub-indices include, country’s Economy, Entrepreneurship & Opportunity, Governance, Education, Health, Safety& Security, Personal Freedom and Social Capital.
Sri Lanka has seen big improvements in its Economy scores, which have contributed to the country’s improvements in the overall Prosperity Index.
The Economy sub-index has risen twenty eight places to 74th since 2009, as a result of increases in capital per worker, gross domestic savings, perceived job availability, and satisfaction with access to adequate food and shelter.
Over the past five years, Sri Lanka has increased twelve places to 35th in the Social Capital sub-index, due to increases in willingness to help strangers and trust levels.
A whopping 82% of people say they can rely on others in times of need and 57% believe Sri Lanka is a good place to live for immigrants.
However, despite the end of the civil war with the Tamil Tiger terrorists in 2009, the country has not felt safe. The Safety& Security sub-index ranked at 121 out of the 142 countries surveyed.
Norway led the overall rankings for the fifth year followed by Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand and Denmark in that order.
In the South Asian region, India declined to106th and overtaken for the first time in 2013 by Bangladesh which ranked at 103rd. Nepal ranked at 102nd and Pakistan remains low in the rankings at 132nd with progress hampered by security-related challenges.